Latest Updates
The One in Five campaign is part of the Employee Mental Health strategy focused on de-stigmatizing conversations around mental health and illness.
A key action of the Employee Mental Health Strategy is to enhance the knowledge and skills of leaders/supervisors to create the conditions in the work environment to positively influence psychological health and safety.
As part of this key action, the University of Windsor has designed a leadership development program in mental health and psychological safety to foster a common level of awareness and understanding of mental health, reduce stigma, and build a psychologically healthy and safe workplace culture.
This program consists of two components:
- Two self-directed modules available via Brightspace: Understanding Mental Health and Understanding Psychological Safety
- In-person workshops on Mental Health and Psychological Safety to explore content in more depth. Leaders must complete the two self-directed modules before attending in-person workshops.
For more information, visit the Leadership Training page.
As part of The EMHS Implementation Working Group's commitment to transparency and accountability, implementation updates will be posted 2 times per year on this page.
View/download the July 2024 update
Read the Daily News article here
Printable resources now available:
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) poster (8.5x14, .pdf)
Employee Mental Health Resources (8.5x11, .pdf)
Employee Mental Health Resources postcard (.pdf)
For print copies, please email EmployeeMentalHealth@uwindsor.ca
Faculty and staff Ambassadors will help us enhance communication and engagement at the faculty/department level as we implement the Employee Mental Health Strategy.
The EMHS evaluation framework aims at measuring the degree to which the EMHS has achieved its purpose “Build awareness and understanding of mental health, reduce stigma and foster a psychologically safe environment for all”. The data gathered will also enable to assess and adjust interventions and support ongoing planning.
The evaluation framework outlined below consists of the following key components:
Category – Broad themes emerging from the literature review for the purpose of clustering the indicators.
Indicators – Information used to assess the extent to which the EMHS has achieved its purpose, in alignment with each category.
Data Source – Department(s)/position(s) from which we will access the data needed to gauge the indicator.
Data Collection Method – Tools, documents or other methods that will be used to gather the data.
The final framework will also include data collection frequency and baseline data collected at the beginning of the EMHS implementatio that wil be used to calibrate change.
Strategy Development
The Vice-President, People, Equity, and Inclusion is accountable for the implementation of the strategy, and as a first step in that process, an accountability structure has been established to lead the implementation of the strategy.
An implementation plan and measurement framework will be established in Winter 2024 to turn the strategy into action and to measure success as we continue to build a safe and thriving workplace at the University of Windsor.
To this end, the Employee Mental Health Strategy Implementation Working Group was established in September 2023.
The Employee Mental Health Strategy Steering Committee was established in the Fall of 2022 to lead the strategy development process. The Committee then engaged the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as an external subject-matter expert.
The following provides a high-level overview of the strategy development process:
1. Take stock of current situation
The development of the strategy was guided by the Campus Mental Health Purpose, Vision and Guiding Principles and grounded on the 13 psychosocial factors that are part of the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace (Mental Health Commission of Canada in partnership with CSA and the Bureau de Normalisation du Quebec, 2013).
A comprehensive assessment tool comprised of key indicators associated with the 13 psychosocial factors was designed to take stock of our current situation through data gathered through the Employee Engagement Survey (2022), the Aspire Strategic Planning consultations as well as the review of policies and websites.
2. Identify gaps, needs, & opportunities
The information gathered through the assessment tool was reviewed to identify areas of strength, gaps, needs, and opportunities.
3. Formulate areas of priority & key actions
To address the opportunities for improvement emerging from the organizational assessment, an integrated approach to psychological health and safety was adopted by the Steering Committee. Five (5) areas of priority for the Employee Mental Health Strategy and a total of 22 key actions emerged from this process. Combined, these 5 priorities and associated actions will be impactful to promote mental health, minimize workplace risks to mental health, support employees throughout the mental health continuum and build a psychologically healthy and safe workplace culture.